"Master Han has an exceptional eye, yet this final step has trapped me for several hundred years," the Taoist smiled wearily. Han Li nodded calmly, said nothing, lifted the crimson jade scroll from the golden small sword, and then immersed his consciousness into it, studying it carefully. The other three remained quietly by the side, waiting patiently. After a while, Han Li withdrew his consciousness from the scroll and murmured a place name: "Fu Li Marsh!" "Wait—how could it be here?" The man with green eyes gasped, suddenly losing his composure. The Taoist and Dong Guo Feng also looked visibly alarmed. "Is there something wrong with this place?" Han Li furrowed his brows, asking gently. "Not just wrong—it's one of the most dangerous regions for the foreign scouts. Every year, many of our peers perish there. It's a place of constant peril." The man with green eyes exhaled sharply, speaking in a grave tone. "Are we the only ones patrolling here?" Han Li was somewhat surprised, but soon his eyes flashed and he asked again. "That's not the case. The Floating Li Marsh is vast; even if we continuously hover and walk around it, it would take us nearly a month. Usually, there are four teams dispatched to patrol the area separately." Ma Dao clearly explained. "Since it's not a single team's responsibility, there's nothing to complain about. Just be more cautious." Han Li raised a slight eyebrow and said calmly. "Han Senior, you may not know, two years ago, the leader of the Twelfth Team, Xuan Guang, was ambushed and killed by the Shadow Clan while patrolling the Floating Li Marsh. Two other colleagues also perished alongside him. Xuan Guang was already at the stage of mid-Transcendent Stage." Dong Guo Peak spoke with a hint of apprehension. "A mid-Transcendent Stage cultivator! Such an event!" Han Li finally showed genuine emotion. At that moment, footsteps were heard simultaneously from both side corridors, and several people stepped out. Five men and one woman—two elderly figures, a middle-aged couple resembling a married pair, a young lad seemingly in his late teens or early twenties, and a robust, well-glowing man with a strong bearing—were clearly fellow team members who had been meditating in the quiet chamber. They had all simultaneously learned of the arrival of the golden sword message through some unknown means, prompting them to come forth. Assigned to this region, we cannot alter the superior orders. For the coming years, we must simply remain vigilant. We shall depart tomorrow—let us all make additional preparations." Han Li said little, merely gave a few instructions before entering the corridor on his own. He settled in a quiet chamber that had no occupant and did not reappear. Han Li's calm and indifferent demeanor naturally caused the other cultivators to exchange puzzled glances, eventually all of their eyes settling on the man with green eyes. "Zhu brother, did you inform Master Han of the dangers of the Fuling Marsh?" asked the young man of the Ying surname. "Of course I did. Yet Master Han appears to have listened only half-heartedly." The man with green eyes sighed. "Even if he had listened, what then? The orders come directly from the Council of Elders—how could we possibly defy them?" The woman from the couple added, with a sense of helplessness. "We certainly won't dare to defy them." But at least let the elders know of the dangers involved, be more cautious and stay a bit longer—should any particularly powerful foreign tribes emerge, we'd at least need the Qingming Guards to handle the situation independently. Master Ma stroked his long beard, clearly concerned. "There's no need for everyone to be overly worried! Though the FuLi Marsh is indeed perilous, it's rather fortunate that the shadow people, recently discovered last year, have coincided with our encounter with other hidden foreign tribes. The FuLi Marsh is classified as a Level One hazard zone, and our current patrol has already brought us substantial rewards. Moreover, we'll have ample time to rest afterward. As long as we endure these years, future assignments are likely to avoid such hazardous zones. Everyone just follow Master Han's advice and prepare accordingly." The tall, blue-eyed man paused and spoke thoughtfully. Upon hearing this, the others found no better course of action and eventually dispersed with a sense of resignation. At that moment, Han Li sat cross-legged on the cushion within the chamber, hands forming seals, with a gentle golden glow pulsing softly across his body—seeming deeply in meditation. Yet, subtly at the crown of his head, golden rings flickered in and out of brightness, casting an unusually mysterious aura. "Master Ma introduced him with a smile." "Descendant of a cultivator who achieved transcendence!" Han Li's mind stirred, yet he only nodded calmly on the surface. The female cultivator was also reserved, offering a brief greeting before falling silent. "Everyone has arrived. Let's go." Han Li made no hesitation. With a single command, the group stepped out of the stone pavilion and headed toward a nearby transmission pavilion. This one was guarded by a separate team of cultivators. Though a Golden Court vessel was stationed there, it was only needed for longer-distance travel, so it was unnecessary for their current short journey. After presenting his identity token, the group formed waves of three or four people each, standing in line at the transmission array. As waves of white light enveloped them, all eleven successfully transmitted out of Tianyuan City and materialized in a new, unfamiliar location. Upon emerging from the slight dizziness, Han Li and the bearded man, along with the others, glanced around. A slight furrow formed between his brows. This was a seemingly modest stone chamber, beneath which lay a one-way teleportation array, and various runes shimmering on the surrounding walls, fully enclosed by magical seals. The Daoist monks who had arrived earlier were gathered around the teleportation array, waiting patiently. Han Li stepped out of the array calmly and walked a few paces to reach the chamber's entrance, then flicked his jade pendant, the color of jade, at the main door. Instantly, a surge of green light radiated out, causing the runes on the door to ripple before slowly opening to reveal a passage about one zhang wide, extending upward. Han Li said nothing, merely flashing a streak of green light and shooting forth like a streak of brilliant light. The ten attendants behind him immediately activated their respective teleportation techniques and followed swiftly. Not long after the last person had stepped out, the chamber door glowed briefly and then closed gently. By then, Han Li had already vanished through the passage, now materializing in the sky above a small hill, where he took a moment to settle and survey the surroundings. They stood in a rather desolate hilly region. Looking back, several miles away, a shimmering haze revealed towering, immense city walls clearly visible. The multicolored runes fluttering along the walls still emitted a brilliant, radiant glow, even at that distance. Han Li studied the walls for a while, his gaze shifting several times. According to his knowledge, the great walls facing the wild frontier of Tianyuan City had no traditional "city gates"—both humans and immortals had to rely entirely on the city's teleportation arrays to enter or exit. Thus, under the dense network of protective spells, Tianyuan City remained completely secure from infiltration by outsiders. Nevertheless, Han Li's inspection naturally did not focus in that direction; he turned his head to the other side. There, the landscape stretched with a series of hills of varying sizes, lush and verdant, peaceful and serene—so quiet and composed that one hardly sensed they had entered the very realm of the ancient, wild frontier as described in legend. But according to the map, the so-called Fulu Marsh lies some ten thousand li away, where the unique topography can partially shield divine awareness scans, allowing foreign races to often hide and monitor the activities of Tianyuan City. Tianyuan City is thus compelled to regularly dispatch teams of cultivators for frequent and unusual patrols. However, these foreign observers are all highly skilled, especially adept at concealment, and frequently result in human cultivators perishing in the marshes during their efforts to counter them. As a result, this area has been classified by Tianyuan City—alongside several other regions—as a first-tier hazardous zone, the very place where patrol cultivators most dread to go. Now, however, the team to which Han Li has been assigned has been designated to patrol this very region, and thus will inevitably face immense risks over the coming years. Han Li silently pondered this, then turned back to gaze at the group of cultivators behind him, and softly uttered the word, "Let's go." Over a dozen beams of light flashed forth, heading straight toward the horizon. For the cultivators at the元婴 level and above, a distance of over ten thousand li was no great feat. Not long after, Han Li spotted the destination far off. A rolling green line came into view. As he drew closer, he could make out the nature of the green line—it was actually a hazy mass of mist, through which distant mountains and trees were faintly visible. The beams of light paused briefly, then Han Li flipped his hand once, and instantly a specially crafted jade disk appeared in his hand. With a gentle touch of his finger, the disk glowed with a layer of red light. At that moment, the other cultivators among the beams of light also drew out identical jade disks and cast their own spells. This device, known as the Hetero-Spirit Disk, was specifically issued by Tianyuan City to every patrol guard, enabling it to detect the presence of non-human races within a certain range. However, this disk generally only responds to a specific direction, and its effectiveness may vary when encountering ethnic beings possessing special divine abilities. Nevertheless, once it is activated, the journey is typically much more stable. Thus, Han Li and the others drew forth this artifact, slowed their flight, and carefully advanced into the mist. Not long afterward, they vanished completely within the fog.